1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to air freshener devices and cartridges, and more particularly to air freshener devices wherein the evaporation controlled fragrance cartridge, having means for controlling the evaporation of two fragrances of different volatilities, is easily replaced by inserting a refill fragrance cartridge into the air freshener housing which automatically replaces the expired cartridge.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Air freshener devices typically utilize a card or carrier which contains a fragrance to be evaporated. When the fragrance has evaporated, the card is typically removed by reversing the process by which it was inserted or can be removed by other means requiring the user to follow additional procedures. The user must then take additional steps to refill the device. Also, the devices are usually difficult to access if mounted on a surface and thus the entire process can be time consuming and frustrating to the user.
In addition, in some cases air fresheners are designed to disperse a combined fragrance which includes fragrances of high and low volatility. The result of the typical design is that the evaporation of the fragrance of high volatility is much greater the first few days of exposure and thereafter evaporation rapidly falls off. This results in a short lived period when the combined fragrance is disseminated at an optimum level. Therefore, it is desirable to control evaporation of the fragrance.
One example where the evaporation of the fragrance is controlled to allow reproduction of a desired odor is U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,023, issued Jan. 16, 1973 to Dean E. Smith. An air conditioning system is disclosed which releases evaporated volatile substances into the air to produce an odor. The individual compartments from which the odor is to be formed are stored in individual receptacles and the amount of individual components to be released are controllable. The mixing of various components may be controlled by varying the width of the passage way to vary the proportions of the fragrances being mixed. However, the system is not designed to obtain the even rate of evaporation of fragrances of different volatilities.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,414 discloses an apparatus for evaporating a solution of varying volatility (the solution contains ingredients of high, middle, and low notes). A certain amount of the volatile liquid is allowed to be evaporated at one time. An evaporative container is used which comprises a container for holding the solution and a water absorbing impregnation element that is fitted to the head of the container and which uses the mechanism of a siphon to supply liquid to be evaporated. The use of a controlled dispenser allows the remaining solution to retain the original mixture of notes. This patent also includes a device wherein the amount of evaporation of the solution absorbed to be released can be controlled by a rotating lid. However, this device does not utilize the volatilities of the fragrances by effectively controlling evaporation through separate cavities.
The present invention addresses the problems associated with the prior art devices and provides an air freshener device that not only controls evaporation thereby allowing optimum prolonged release of the fragrances, but also provides an easy automatic refill system.